The Webs We Weave
by PlayTheGame
Summary: In a deserted motel with a room for two, Hunter and Stephanie take the first step in entwining their lives in a way neither thought possible. Set in late 1999. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Canon.


**A/N - So yeah, this is a bit of a strange turn for me but Idk, this wouldn't leave me alone. I don't really know what to think about it. I guess I could turn it into an actual story but that probably wouldn't be wise since it's me and all. Anyways, I thought I'd post it and we'll see what happens. If you guys like it maybe I can stretch it out a bit. For now, I hope you like this little step out of the ordinary for me. Enjoy...**

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><p>Hunter stood outside the faded green door. It was splintered and chipped in various places. Appropriate, he thought to himself, given the location of the dump he was currently standing in. Curious hazel eyes shot a glance across the almost deserted parking lot to the empty road he had driven down barely a minute before. His fingers rolled over the crumpled piece of paper in his jeans pocket. The night was cold with a definite winter's chill in the air. Little puffs of white emanated from his mouth as he muttered the contents of the note out loud.<p>

"The Metro Motel. Room 7. After the show. We need to talk."

If he wasn't so intrigued he'd feel insulted. Who the hell left notes like this in his locker room, dishing out their orders for him to follow? Initially he thought it was some chick trying to be cute leaving him her room number. But the 'we need to talk' at the end immediately piqued his interest. No woman looking for a quick fuck would be stupid enough to write that on a note. Then again, a lot of rats were stupid as hell so he wouldn't put it past them. So he had mulled it over in the shower and again when he was getting changed. He even mulled it over when he got in the car after blowing off the rest of DX using tiredness as an excuse not to party. It was silly for him to even pretend like he wasn't going to come but he did it anyway, thoroughly enjoying the little mental game of yes or no in his head that played out during the drive. And now here he stood, outside the requested room with absolutely no idea who or what lay waiting for him inside. His hand rose and after a brief moment of hesitation, he rapped the door.

"It's open."

The voice from inside was slightly muffled but he heard it and his forehead crinkled with suspicion. It was a woman's voice. Hunter slowly opened the door, stepping into the darkness and squinted his eyes in an attempt to make out the figure on the opposite side of the room. A stale smell filtered up his nose while a dampness hung in the air. Hunter took in the open door to the bathroom to the back right. Even from a distance he could tell it was filthy. To the left was a small wardrobe and chest of drawers and his stomach nearly churned at the thought of what could be inside. Directly facing him was a large bed. It was the only thing in the whole place that didn't seem to be a cheap piece of shit. That's where this mysterious woman stood, at the foot of the bed, her face hidden by the shadows.

"What's this all about?" His voice was firm as he held the small piece of paper out in front of him.

Silence.

Hunter sighed and waved his hand around for effect. "Look lady, I didn't come all the way out here for games, okay? What the hell's going on?" It felt like an age had passed and he was about to turn and leave when the woman stepped out of the shadows and Hunter felt a sudden shortness of breath. This wasn't just any woman. His eyes drew together in confusion for only a split second before his defences immediately kicked in and he glanced all around, looking for her maniacal father to jump out of a corner swinging some sharp implement at him at any moment. "What the fuck are you playing at?"

Stephanie McMahon felt the anger in his voice and inwardly cringed as she stepped forward until she was standing in front of him. His face was twisted in confusion and she couldn't blame him. Part of her still couldn't even believe she was doing this. The other part was thrilled beyond belief that she was standing here right now.

"If this is some trick so your old man can come and….."

"I'm alone."

Hunter stopped mid rant. There was nobody in the room but them. This place was a shithole. He hadn't been followed and the parking lot was practically empty. Unless her father was a magician, there was no way Vince could be here. His thick fingers scrunched the paper up and he threw it at her feet. "What is this about, Stephanie?"

Stephanie's stomach was swirling with excitement and even a little bit of anxiety but she held her nerve and tried not to feel intimidated as he looked her dead in the eye. God he was huge, even more so this close. The truth was, she'd only ever seen him from across the ring or on TV. Never face to face. Her father never let her. In fact, he never let her do anything. That was partly the reason she was here and wholly the reason why she had asked him to join her. As her blue eyes locked with his steely gaze she knew she had made the right choice and all her inhibitions faded away.

"You had better start talking or…."

"I just want to talk to you, or rather, discuss something with you."

"What in the name of fuck could you have to discuss with me?" Hunter fumed, mad at himself for coming here and even madder at her for making him come. He absently leaned down and got in her face. Of all the people he was expecting to be behind this door, she was the absolute last one. Stephanie fucking McMahon. If Vince found out about this the crazy old fuck would be out for his balls as well as his head. It was probably all part of some sick plan they had cooked up. Fucking McMahon's. He hated them all.

Stephanie didn't budge. She had been expecting this reaction although the rage in his eyes was slightly unnerving. But this was exactly what she wanted. The man was remorseless, he would do anything to win the WWF Championship and most importantly, he hated her father almost as much as she did. Almost. "I'm not afraid of you," she said evenly, not once breaking their intense gaze. She fought the urge to swallow the lump in her throat when a sick smirk spread across his face.

"No?"

"No."

Hunter made sure their faces were dead even and stared harshly into her eyes, his words cold. "You should be."

A delicious shiver ran up her spine. Hunter was dangerous. She knew it. Everybody knew it. He wasn't called the Cerebral Assassin or The Game for nothing. He was cruel, vicious, heartless and violent. By all accounts she should be afraid standing in a deserted motel room with him. Nobody knew where she was. Her parents thought she was with Andrew. Andrew thought she was with her parents. Fuck all of them. She was here with Hunter Hearst Helmsley with an idea that would change the lives of everybody she knew in her life. "I swear I'm not doing this on my father's orders. He doesn't know I'm here and if you say no then I'll walk out of this room and this meeting never took place." Stephanie figured the quicker she got to the point the less chance there was of him blowing a gasket. He clearly had a short fuse but she knew that already. It was in her best interests not to set him off.

"Say no to what?" As much as he hated to admit it, Hunter was curious. He got out of her face and unclenched his fists. He had no plans of hitting her but when his adrenaline kicked in and he got angry like that, the urge to lash out at everything around him was hard to keep at bay. It was an instinctual reaction and one that he thrived on when in the ring. His suspicious hazel eyes watched as she took a deep breath and glanced at the floor for a moment before looking back at him.

"How would you like to become WWF Champion and destroy my father for good, all in one fell swoop?"

An extended silence permeated the room, adding to the already thick tension between them. Hunter wasn't sure he heard her right. "What?"

"How would you like to become WWF Champion and destroy my father?" Stephanie reiterated, preparing herself for the hard sell. She knew he would have questions but more importantly than that, this whole thing rested on her ability to get him to trust her. She simply had to convince him that she was in this for real and it wasn't a trick or a setup.

After his initial shock, Hunter barely managed to contain an eye roll. He looked at her in her jeans that did absolutely nothing for her in his opinion, her pullover sweater, also that did nothing for her, and her mousey brown hair tucked behind her ears. Her cheeks were a light pink, obviously from the heat of that chunky sweater for she wore no other visible makeup, not that he could see anyway. Her big blue eyes would be captivating if they weren't so…desperate? Hunter tilted his head slightly, the wheels inside turning at light speed as he tried to process just what exactly was going on.

"Hunter, I know you…"

"No you don't," he interrupted. "Don't act or think like you know me. You don't know the first thing about me, Stephanie. Now I don't know what silly little game you think you're playing here or what the hell you're up to but it's probably best that you go running back to daddy and we forget this ever happened."

"Will you just hear me out? Please?"

He wanted to tell her to go to hell but there was something in her eyes, that same desperation from before, that pulled him in. Hunter sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "What is it? What is this stupid idea you dragged me all the way out here for? Fucking waste of time." He was too busy muttering under his breath that he almost didn't hear what she said. "What did you say?"

Stephanie's entire demeanour had changed. She needed him to believe her and he would because she felt this to her very core. He had to help her. He was the only one who could. "I said I want to hurt him. I hate him. And I want to hurt him and make him suffer so he knows that he can't fuck with me like he's done in the past."

Hunter looked at her strangely. She had gone rigid and her deep blue eyes seemed to grow darker. He barely knew her yet he was almost certain she was telling the truth right now. She spoke with such conviction, such coldness, that it couldn't be an act. It was confusing on so many levels. "Why? Why do you want to hurt him?"

"Because he hurt me." She looked up and held his gaze one more. "Because he used me to get what he wanted with complete disregard for my safety and for what I wanted. He terrorised me and my mother for business and he…he broke my heart." Her bottom lip wanted to quiver so badly but she refused to let it. She couldn't look weak in front of him or he would eat her alive.

Crying women weren't his strong suit. Hunter was convinced she was about to break down but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. "What do I have to do with any of this? Your vendetta against your father has nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you, Hunter. I thought you were the Cerebral Assassin." She continued despite the flicker of anger in his eyes. "Don't you see? If we work together we can destroy him much more effectively than if we go it alone."

This whole thing was quickly giving him a headache. Hunter let out something akin to a growl of frustration. "And what is this magnificent plan you've cooked up? You do have a plan, right? You didn't just come here with some fantasy or…"

"Don't patronise me."

Her tone was short and expression serious. Hunter looked at her strangely. He couldn't figure her out. It seemed as though he had judged her without ever really knowing much about her, purely because of her last name. Yet here she was, the billion dollar princess, standing in a dump dishing out orders to a man twice her size with a renowned mean streak. Her now fiery blue eyes were glaring at him in what appeared to be annoyance.

"I'm sick of everybody treating me like I'm still a little girl. I'm not. Not anymore. I came to you because you're the only person who hates my father as much as I do and you're the only man ruthless enough to see this through. I want him to feel all the pain I suffered at his hands and more. Will you help me or not?" Stephanie was breathing heavily by the time she finished. He had to say yes, he just had to. It felt like a life time before he finally spoke.

"What's your plan?"

"I'm engaged to Andrew."

"So?"

"I want you to marry me first."

He stared ahead blankly, not quite sure he had heard her right.

Stephanie couldn't stop the little grin from crossing her face as she relaxed her shoulders and filled him in. "I want you to marry me first and then use it as leverage in a match against my father to get you a title shot. When you win, because of my help, my dad will be crushed to pieces and we can both stand there and watch him burn."

He'd be freaked out by her maliciousness if he wasn't so intrigued. He stared at her, taking her in completely from her black boots to her no longer innocent face. It was only then that Hunter noticed those baby face features were no longer there. Maybe he saw her that way because it's who he thought she was. He knew differently now. And the person standing before him was _all_ woman. A slow grin spread across his face at the devious nature of her plot. She truly wanted to take the old man down. Who was he to refuse, especially with a title shot at the other end of the tunnel? All he had to do was play nice and rub the old goat's face in the fact that he put a ring on his baby girl's finger. What's the worst that could happen?

"You got yourself a deal, princess."

Stephanie grinned from ear to ear, not even bothered by his little nickname. He was in, that was all that mattered. Now the destruction of her father could truly begin. Besides, being 'married' to Hunter wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't going to last forever. What's the worst that could happen?

"Deal."


End file.
